I’m still stunned; the best performance by a Raptor team I’ve seen in three/four years. If you didn’t know the standings, and that was the first Raptor game you saw this season, you would have thought that this is a top team in the association; that’s the kind of game that was played last night.

It’s harder to duplicate that effort on back-to-back teams, but there is an added element of playing Chris Bosh tonight, which can’t be overlooked. The Raptors have a bit of history with the Magic, and were able to flip the on switch last night. The hustle and tenacity they have showed so far, was there for the whole game. Makes you wonder if this has two speeds: play hard/aggressive for some of the game, play hard/aggressive for all of the game. That switch needs to be on tonight for the whole game; even though the Heat are 5-4, they are mighty dangerous.

I had a chance to speak with Kevin Arnovitz, super writer/blogger for ESPN TrueHoop and the Miami Heat Index about Bosh and the Heat:

What a mess this has become; the basketball is almost taking a back seat to the dog and pony show.
From the vantage point in Miami, it’s actually settling down if you can believe it. Because this team has absolutely no track record even though it’s stacked like a contender, we can expect every single big matchup to be treated like a playoff game. It’s the only measuring stick we have. And outcomes generally stoke the extremes. If they win (Orlando a couple weeks back), supporters will crown them champs. If they lose (Boston on Thursday), skeptics willl revel in schadenfreude and pronounce the Heat paper tigers. It’ll be that way most of the season.

5-4 to start the year wasn’t the result many were predicting, but the fact of the matter is that the big three in Miami was a far different animal than the big three in Boston. What will this team have to do to get back on track?
The adjustments aren’t huge. Right now, they’re 25th in the league in total rebounding differential. LeBron James and Chris Bosh are well below their usual numbers. So that’s number one. Second, they need to buy into a defensive strategy and stick to it. Erik Spoelstra generally subscribes to a Popovichian approach, but over the past week, there’s very little evidence of that on the floor. The Jazz and Hornets shredded the Heat on rotations, and Boston lured them into silly gambles and exploited them on pushed balls. Take care of those two things and the Heat will stat winning 75 percent of their games.

It was generally assumed that Bosh’s production would drop offensively, but his whole game has seemingly gone south fuelling a lot of folks up here to argue that he was just a selfish stat stuffer during his time in Toronto. What are your impressions about Bosh as a person and player after watching him closely for the last couple months? How does he get back on track?
I’m not sure that Bosh put up gaudy numbers in Toronto because he was selfish so much as he was the single best matchup on the floor on every possession, and the Raptors fashioned their entire offense around that principle. That’s simply not the case in Miami. With the Raptors, he had a 5-man who lured the other big away from the block, whereas he’s getting no help in that capacity except when Ilgauskas is on the court. He needs to put the ball on the floor more and stop ball-watching when shots go up. Personally, he’s been very, very confessional about his struggles. He’s admitted the speed of James and Dwyane Wade have made him skittish and that he’s been more deferential than he probably should be. Ironically, the best prescription for Bosh might be to a more selfish stat-stuffer when he’s got a favorable matchup and the ball comes to him at the weak side elbow. Those are *his* possessions and he should own them.

Does Wade have what it will take to let LeBron become the alpha dog on his team?
It’s tricky because, on balance, this team is putting up the offensive numbers it needs to. They’re putting up 108.5 points per 100 possessions, which tells us that except for a few stretches when the ball stops, they’re doing fine. Both guys need to get more comfortable working off the ball. LeBron did this in Cleveland, but it was with the understanding that nobody was going to supplant him as the focal point in the offense. Wade has less practice with it, but Spoelstra is running some nice sets where Wade darts up from the weak side corner past a couple of stagger screens or gets a handoff from Bosh at the pinch post. To me, it’s no so much a need for a defined Alpha and Beta as it is James and Wade coming to a mutual understanding that the team can kill it if each of them starts doing more productive work off the ball to scramble the defense.

If you could add somebody to this team in the offseason, who would it be?
What they need is a Marcus Camby (who is unavailable) — rebounder/shot blocker who doesn’t need the ball, but can keep it moving and make plays.There aren’t a lot of players like that available. But a healthy Joel Przybilla could help. Tyson Chandler will be a free agent, but he might be out of their price range and is also susceptible to injuries.

Injury Report

Match-ups

PG – Jack/Calderon vs Arroyo/Chalmers
Since the Heat have both Wade and LeBron who handle the ball so much, the point guard situation for them is interesting. Neither Arroyo or Chalmers are big components of this team, with the bulk of their contributions coming on the defensive end, checking the opponents point guards. Offensively, they are reduced to hitting open jumpers/threes when they get them, and generally not screwing up. This should be an area of focus for the Raptors tonight, since the Heat struggle when they play teams with solid point guard play. Both Jack and Calderon are settling into a rotation that saw both struggle to start the season. Jack will need to continue attacking off the dribble, while Calderon has to maintain his control over the flow of the game offensively, feeding off the pick-n-roll with Johnson and hitting the shots that come to him. After fighting Jameer Nelson hard last night, there might not be much in the tank tonight, but they are off till Tuesday, so finding the second wind tonight will be crucial.Edge: Jack/Calderon

SG – DeRozan vs Wade
DeRozan was absolutely brilliant last night, taking it to Vince Carter every single minute of the game, running around, crashing the boards…basically contributing at a very high level. Wade is a much better defender than Carter, and he’s coming off a God awful performance against the Celtics, so we can expect a nasty chip on his shoulder. DeRozan owned the paint/elbow/top of the key last night, and attacking from there opens up the court for the rest of the team when the Miami defense collapses on him, much like what happened last night.

One of the best ways to play Wade is to make him play on both ends of the floor, forcing him to play tough and try to get him into foul trouble. Should be noted that DeRozan did play 40 minutes last night in a very hard fought/emotional game, so getting him off early to get the adrenaline pumping will be key. Asking him to win this match-up is not fair, but we can ask him to play as hard as possible and put Wade under pressure from the tip.Edge: Wade

SF – Weems vs LeBron
After starting the season forcing the action, Weems has really fallen into his niche of letting the game come to him, attacking off the dribble and hitting his shots. I don’t like saying this, but the injury to Kleiza was a bit of a blessing in disguise in that Weems adds a level of athleticism that Linas just doesn’t have. It was a big cog in the Raptor run-and-gun machine last night, and will be a very important piece tonight against LeBron. That being said, there is nothing anything in the world can do to shut down LeBron since he contributes in every facet of the game. Much like the DeRozan/Wade match-up, Weems needs to make James play defense, and run him around. On offense, his jump shooting will keep LeBron far enough from the rim that his spectacular rebounding wont be as big a factor; he will still grab plenty boards, but it should give Reggie one less person to worry about on every board. I was never a fan of calling Weems ‘Money’, but after last night, the nickname sticks for me. Hitting a game winning shot from behind the arc finally earns him such a big nickname.

Should be mentioned that Julian Wright has played damn good at the small forward spot the last few games. I like his length and agility on LeBron (not that he will stop him, but he could slow the guy down). His contribution on defense will be paramount.Edge: James

PF – Evans vs Bosh
Haters unite, tonights your chance to rip Bosh up in the comments, chat and twitter. The hate being spewed at Chris has been epic, and more so than what Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady ever got from us. It only goes to show how important, and how tied woven into the teams identity Bosh has become over the years. Evans played Howard perfectly last night. While Howard still had a monsterish night (25pts 8reb 5blk), most of his points came as the garbage variety where the Raptors had a hard time matching his sheer physical prowess. Bosh doesn’t have those gifts, and will be working outside-in as he does. I like Evans in that role since he can put pressure on Bosh outside the paint, then keep him on his back when the shot goes up (limiting his rebounding effectiveness). Unlike Howard though, Bosh wont be missing 10 free throws in a game, so putting him on the line, and tempting him to beat us from there will be a terrible strategy. Bosh is right around 15pts 6rebs a night, which was expected to a degree, except for the rebounding. He has trouble playing at the speed Wade and James operate, so if this becomes a run and gun game, his contribution will be minimized.

I do expect to see Bosh play Bargnani on defense quite a bit this game, with Joel Anthony checking Evans in the paint, and am really looking forward to see how this plays out. Bosh has the quickness to stay with Bargnani off the dribble, and should know enough not to go for his pump fakes at the arc.

Wifee is pissed at me since I broke plans to watch this game, this is how important playing Bosh is for me this season. Beating him to a pulp would be sweet for me, and if Evans plays him the way I think he will, the Republic will treat him to a steak at Jacob & Co.

Haslem will have a big say tonight, and can’t be overlooked because he does everything right on the floor, and can pull Evans out of paint with his mid-range and away from the glass.Edge: Evans (yea, I said it)

C – Bargnani vs Anthony
A mistake the Raptors did last night was not forcing the ball to Bargnani a bit more in the 3rd quarter, to maintain that ridiculous zone he was in, in the first half (9-12 from the field for 21pts). A lot of that had to do with Orlando sending a double at Bargnani, but a lot had to do with the game-plan coming out of the half. Compared to the last week or so, Bargnani should own Anthony tonight. How he handles Bosh when they match-up will be the key tonight. I’m basically looking for a repeat from last night, anything less, and this bad boy can get ugly fast.Edge: Bargnani

Keys to the Game

Play Big
The Heat don’t have the same athletic front court the Raptors do. Between Evans, Johnson, Bargnani and Dorsey (to a smaller degree), the Raptors have the horses to really take it to a weakish front line that’s full of old men (Ilgauskas and Magloire). Haslem wont be breaking the game wide open, Anthony is only here because the Heat had no other choice which really leaves Bosh, who isn’t a big fan of the physical play, although he’s great at drawing contact and getting to the ine.

Substitutions
The injury situation has forced Triano’s hand into playing a tight rotation without the hockey substitutions, which we all know is how this game should be played. Making 4-5 guy chances disrupts the flow of the game for the Raptors, and has been a big piece of why they haven’t played well. The Heat have the luxury of fielding a team, where the best player in the world can play 5 positions. Triano (I’m just putting this out there) and Carlesimo’s ability to put out the best lineup will be crucial, especially considering that the Raptor starters played heavy minutes last night.

Sticking it to Bosh
This game needs to be more than just winning another game. Last night, the Raptors went into Orlando on a 6 game losing streak, and needing to stop the bleeding. They were able to dig deep and get a result that helped heal the team. Tonight, we play the guy who left us for greener pastures. I for one hold Bosh’s tenure in Toronto in high regard, and have nothing bad to say about him; but if we use his departure as motivation, it could serve as an ex-factor to fueling a win. Think about it, how sweet would it be to leave Florida beating 2 of the 3 elite teams in the East, where you’re ex-franchise player calls home?

The Line

The Heat are 15 point favourites with an over/under of 200.5.

How much the Raptors have left in the tank after an emotional game, and their ability to dig deep and summon the will to beat another elite team will determine this game. I will say this though, we will know very quickly how this game turns out. The 1st quarter will be telling.

We had a pretty good turn out for live chat, considering expectations were low for the game. I expect tonight to be super bumping on Twitter, Facebook and Live Chat; support the habbit.

My girl said that to me as I sunk into my seat while TSN played the Bosh presser. I seriously don’t know where to begin, except to say that there is no hard feelings towards Bosh from this corner of the internet (Arse excluded). All my anger and disgust are squarely aimed at the brass for failing this city so miserably, yet again.

Some bad PR aside, Bosh stayed true to the tenets he had maintained since his exit interview:

Be a core piece of a championship calibre team (think Pau Gasol)

Max contract (the Florida tax situation puts him damn close without breaking out a calculator)

That he will resign with the Raptors IF he feels they are doing everything possible to put a quality team around him

We can do nothing but speculate about what was said between Colangelo and Bosh’s camp up until yesterday, but one thing was clear: there was not enough communication between the two groups. For that, the blame gets spread around evenly. However, you can’t take a couple tweets about the excitement of getting courted from a 26 year old guy to heart, that’s all I’m saying. While I fully believe that Colangelo was working like a mad man to get Bosh to resign, clearly not enough was done to appease him. For starters, perhaps he could’ve made the trip to Texas last week instead of sending his assistants.

By signing outright (for now, Colangelo can still negotiate a max S&T) with the Heat, Bosh has put winning a championship above everything else. For that, we should ALL have nothing but respect for the guy. Sure, the Heat only have Wade, Beasley and Chalmers under contract; they will have a tough time filling out the roster with enough talent to be a championship contender next season, but Riley has built a championship team in Miami in the past without a running mate for Wade of Bosh’s caliber. Top four team in the East as things stand? I say that’s about right.

Where did it all go wrong?

Colangelo had three summers to improve upon the surprising 47 win team that raised all of our expectations. While there were a couple smaller moves that worked out fairly well, Amir/Belinelli/Jack, the larger ones failed miserably:

He underestimated the value of Jorge Garbajosa after he went down with a broken leg, and literally did nothing to replace him in the lineup. While Jorge wasn’t the most talented of players, he was a glue guy for the Raptors who did a lot of the little things necessary to win games. The thinking at the time went that the team didn’t need a whole lot of tinkering, so there wasn’t any at all. Foul ball: 0-1

After getting thumped by Orlando in the first round of the playoffs, the Raptors had a clear need for a second “20 point scorer” who could take some of the load off of Bosh, so defences couldn’t zero in on him and grind our offense to a halt. Jermaine O’Neal was obtained to be that guy who could come in and be fill that role. Seemed like this was the start of a couple other moves (a shooting guard in the mold of Mickael Pietrus would have been a good fit), but it was the only move. JO didn’t pan out at all, and things went from bad to worse prompting the premature (but widely expected) firing of Sam Mitchell. O’Neal was promptly shipped to Miami (with a 1st rounder to boot) for the expiring contract of Shawn Marion and the crippling contract of Marcus Banks. Strike two: 0-2

The Raptors still needed that second option on offense, so Shawn Marion was turned into Hedo Turkoglu who, while coming off a great playoff run, couldn’t recreate the Magic (sorry) he displayed for Orlando. Hedo literally provided no relief on the offensive end of the court, and the Raptors narrowly missed the playoffs. To make matters worse, Hedo made a bigger mess with his appearance on Turkish television saying he wanted out and that the organization was unfair in their handling of his going out on the town. To top it all off, Colangelo outbid nobody and re-upped Bargnani to a 5yr/$50million contract instead of letting him prove his worth in a contract year and relying on the qualifying offer. That still could work out, but so far it hasn’t. Strike three: 0-3

If you were given the choice to play for Colangelo and Triano alongside Calderon, Turkoglu and Bargnani, or for Riley and Spoelstra alongside Wade and anyone else in the league – in Miami of all places, who would you choose? I think he made a great basketball decision. Doesn’t even matter that LeBron wont be joining them, since the pairing of Wade and Bosh rivals that of Kobe and Gasol.

Where does that leave the Raptors?

There is still some hope. Colangelo can still swoop in and try to make some things happen by giving Bosh a max contract, while trying to make a couple other things happen. I prematurely posted a Bucher rumour the other day that looks MIGHTY fine to me right now:

To Miami
Bosh/Calderon

To Toronto
Chalmers/Beasley and a trade exception

It is doubtful we get any draft picks back since Bosh was willing to forgo some salary to sign outright with Miami; Riley has proved to be a shark in these matters. The Heat still need a top calibre point guard, which Calderon still is. This leaves them enough space to fill out the roster by signing a few of their own free agents, while grabbing some veterans. Not a bad start for the Heat.

Where do we go from here?

The short: it leaves a squad with a lot to be desired. You can’t expect that Beasley will replace what Bosh (you also can’t expect him to even be a part of our imaginary dream either) brought to the table, you just can’t. The kid has talent, there is no denying it but the other stuff that comes with him frankly has me nauseous. A front court of Turkoglu, Beasley and Bargnani doesn’t get me excited, but it does get rounded out with Johnson, Evans, Davis and Alabi. Chalmers and Banks back up Jack, with a trio at the wing of DeRozan, Weems and Belinelli. That isn’t terrible, but there are no stars, and no one who can create their own scoring opportunities AND get to the line like Bosh did. The playoffs would be an unlikely event with this group, though.

IF Colangelo can negotiate a S&T that includes Jose ANDif he gets back a large enough trade exemption that we can land a star somehow (I hear Chris Paul is available if you take Emeka Okafor’s massive contract, just putting it out there) ANDif said trade exception is properly managed, things are salvageable BUT I wont hold my breath based on this teams history.

Here’s another IF: LeBron James. IF he decides to sign in Miami, expect a deal to get done that includes Beasley. The Heat still need to clear some space to bring in the second max free agent. With LeBron’s ego LeBron James holding a presser at 9pm tonight, Colangelo has a small window of opportunity to possibly take advantage of Riley since the clock is ticking to get LeBron to sign in Miami. Fortunately this ordeal will be over with quickly, then we can get to the important business of debating the crap out of our secondary tier of players and what to do with them.

]]>http://www.raptorsrepublic.com/2010/07/08/bye-bye-bosh/feed/79Beyond the Raptors: Miami Heathttp://www.raptorsrepublic.com/2010/06/04/beyond-the-raptors-miami-heat/
http://www.raptorsrepublic.com/2010/06/04/beyond-the-raptors-miami-heat/#commentsFri, 04 Jun 2010 10:46:29 +0000http://raptorsrepublic.com/?p=17872If there is anyone who scares me when it comes to dealing Bosh, it's Pat Riley. I know Colangelo wont give away Bosh, but Riley squeezed blood out of a stone on that Jermaine O'Neal deal, no telling what he could do on a Bosh one.

An issue that has me boggled is folks thinking that Bosh will up and just leave the Raptors, signing with another team. We have heard that Bosh, LeBron and Wade wont lose money if they sign with another team (instead of a S&T) since their next contract will pick up where this max one leaves off, but it’s a question of security. God forbid one of them, in this case Bosh, gets injured badly 4 years from now. That next contract doesn’t help him at all, since it wont be close to a max one. Whatever, I’m rambling…

I checked in with Surya Fernandez from Hot Hot Hoops to talk about the Heat and the newly formed commission (Bosh, Wade, LeBron and Joe Johnson). We’re still getting weak trade offers for Bosh; I guess a 24pt 11reb a night kind of guy has no value around the league. It’s actually making me question what I think I know about basketball (which granted isn’t very much since I thought the Suns were going to be thumped buy the Spurs in the 2nd round).

Without even making a reach, Riley has a lot of options to pair Wade with an elite level forward this summer (Bosh, Boozer and Stoudemire), so you can expect him to jump at the first option regardless of who he really covets. I’m going out on a limb and predicting Bosh doesn’t end up in Miami this summer, but that the Heat will be a 50 win team next season with the additions Riley makes.

Sam Holako: What do you make of this free agent commission Wade, LeBron, Bosh and Johnson have put together to discuss their fates? Seems sinister, and frankly, I’m a little disappointed about it – whatever happened to being a man?

Surya Fernandez: It’s all a matter of perception. Toronto needs to find another willing team to do a sign and trade should Bosh want to go elsewhere to get something decent in return and start a new era. The Heat have been treading water for the last couple of years and are finally free of that huge chunk of salary cap that dated back from Shaq’s last contract extension. Wade doesn’t sound like he’s leaving so there’s little doubt that he’ll try to do some recruiting at this summit. There’s nothing else for him to talk about. I don’t mind players that are friends getting together and talking about something this important in their lives and careers. Maybe they all go their separate ways and nothing much comes of it. Just imagine what owners and GMs talk about when they all get together. It must be worse than a sewing circle.

SH: With Wade staying, I look at the team, and don’t see much of anything there: Chalmers is a nice player, Beasley has talent, I’m a fan of Joel Anthony, but outside of that, what does Miami do to round out the roster? What does Miami do to become relevant again?

SF: o question it’s a huge question mark with that many contracts clearing the books. But there is a lot of flexibility that comes with that. Udonis Haslem and Dorell Wright are solid players that can be retained or used for sign and trades to secure a point guard, the Heat’s biggest need. Chalmers and Beasley can be traded but if they stay will provide depth.

I’m not a fan of simply giving out max contracts to just anybody and I would pass on Amar’e Stoudemire, Carlos Boozer and Joe Johnson because other teams that may miss out on the bigger names will be offered a max contract by a team like the Knicks, Clippers or Nets. If you can sign James or Bosh then that’s great but the Heat could also use the rest of the $10-12 million to round out a roster with some quality big men and long range shooters. I just wrote (Affordable free agents that the Miami Heat should pursue) about nine free agents that the Heat should go after if they went this path.

Another method that isn’t discussed much is to hold on to some of the cap space to facilitate trades with other teams after the season starts leading up to the trading deadline. Riley said last month that the makeover process could take up to 18 months. Teams will want to shed contracts (like the Marcus Camby or Eric Maynor trades) and the Heat could absorb them easily (and perhaps acquire a few draft picks in the process) to get some more depth leading up to a playoff run.

SH: That’s quite the list, what stands out for me is Oberto and Foye. With the Wizard probably shopping Arenas; what would you think about engineering a trade to land Arenas and Oberto for cap space and Haslem, still having enough cap space to sign a Bosh? That would be a lethal backcourt.

SF: On paper it would be a lethal backcourt. The problem is that the Wizards on paper before the start of this season were thought of as a playoff team. First you have that huge contract that in and of itself would be drawback even if it was the Arenas of a few years ago. Then you have the health issues that he never seemed to have recovered from then the gun incident that derailed the entire franchise. I’d stay away from him.

If Miami wants to try it out with an oft-injured player past his prime I’d rather take on Elton Brand and net the second overall pick too from the Sixers. His contract is just as bad as Arenas but at least then you could rationalize it by having two players who combined make “X” amount of money because of this trade. Both could be useful immediately for the Heat if Brand is at least healthy enough to contribute like Jermaine O’Neal did this past season (putting aside the Celtics playoffs). And the Heat will have an awesome rookie talent at that pick.

SH: Philly was my next option; I really think Brand will surprise folks once he gets out of Philly. Make me an offer for Bosh in a S+T.

SF: You can have your first round pick back from the Marion-O’Neal trade plus another first rounder, Cook and Chalmers (who both need a change of scenery as well). It’s better than losing him for nothing. Offering Beasley as well would be the last resort since Bosh might be persuaded to just simply sign in Miami, not have to pay income tax and the Heat could keep those players and picks I just offered to your Raptors and send them to another team for a solid player who makes less like Rudy Gay. I like Bosh but if the Raptors want to trade him to the Lakers for oft-injured Andrew Bynum then be my guest. The Heat would then go after Stoudemire and maybe Boozer.

SH: I think it’s safe to say he wont leave $30mil guaranteed on the table, so thanks for giving us back our 1st rounder, lol. Can you talk about Riley a bit. Heard he may want to take over as coach again, dropping Erik Spoelstra like he did SVG, if the Heat land another elite player to pair with Wade. Is this just all chatter, or are there some legs to these rumours?

SF: Riley threw that out there as bait for free agents to consider should they want to directly play for him. But even though he only would consider it if he was asked to now it’s hard to not to see Spoelstra as a lame duck after saying that. Quite frankly, I think the Heat has done enough for Erik since hiring him to cut video back in 1995 so I really wouldn’t mind it if the Heat had a veteran seasoned coach going forward. If it has to be Riley so be it. People complain enough that the Heat are somewhat wasting the last couple of years of Wade’s prime and I don’t see Spoelstra as a coach to take your team deep in the playoffs. He might be good at analyzing videos and preparing his players but his in-game decisions, robotic substitution patterns and poor play-calling in late game situations have been the subject of tough criticism from diehard Heat fans.

Van Gundy was squeezed out because Shaq did not want to be coached by him anymore after the Pistons series in ’05. That’s what can happen when teams employ superstars and GMs and owners have to choose whether to listen to them or not. I’m not defending Riley (and I’m positive he smelled a golden opportunity to collect another coaching ring) but sometimes it’s not as simple an issue as it may seem from outsiders looking in. The end result back then was a ring, let’s see what happens this time around.

SH: From the outside looking in, it seemed as though Riley created the atmosphere for SVG to ultimately get canned. Regardless, he was the right man for the job. Could we interest you in Turkoglu?

SF: Agreed but SVG really did muck things up a bit at the end of the Pistons series though. It sure looked like a slimy move on Riley’s part but it sure worked out. Not surprising Riley might consider jumping back in if the roster starts looking like championship material this year.

The Heat only should take Hedo if they can get Marcus Banks back!

SH: So the Heat tried to trade Beasley for Dooling, and were denied (they say he plays a very similar game to Yi); why is Beasley’s value so low?

SF: There is no accuracy to that report. It came out of a podcast with nobody to corroborate it. Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel has already confirmed that the Heat never made such an offer.

There’s no comparison between Beasley and Yi. It’s almost laughable. If you’re referring to Sebastian Pruiti’s comparison to them on Nets Are Scorching all I can tell you is that stats don’t tell the whole story. Stats don’t speak about how his unexperienced coach has never put Beasley in a situation to succeed on the court, how Beasley has never had a consistent role in this team or how he’s never had a chance to play with a decent playmaking point guard since he arrived in the NBA only two years ago.

Quite frankly I’m glad his value is perceived to be low so maybe he’ll stick around. Maybe it’s his personality or maybe it’s the off-court issues. I don’t know how many players in the 4-5 million dollar range could put up 15 points and 6 and a half rebounds in less than 30 minutes while playing in an offense that is solely geared towards Dwyane Wade. Power forward should not be a position of concern for the Heat with so many holes to plug so I can’t really justify carving out such a huge slice of the cap space for Bosh or Boozer.

Yes, of course he needs to work on his game and his defense (as should all young NBA players strive to do this summer). But give him a better coach, more minutes without fear of immediately being pulled off the court because of an error, and a true point guard who can run plays for him that can give him some easier looks closer to the basket. Then we can talk about whether he’s a bust or not. I don’t know how much more value the Heat could get out of that position.

]]>http://www.raptorsrepublic.com/2010/06/04/beyond-the-raptors-miami-heat/feed/1Gameday: Raptors vs Heat – Dec. 15/09http://www.raptorsrepublic.com/2009/12/15/gameday-raptors-vs-heat-dec-1509/
http://www.raptorsrepublic.com/2009/12/15/gameday-raptors-vs-heat-dec-1509/#commentsTue, 15 Dec 2009 14:22:04 +0000http://raptorsrepublic.com/?p=13240Tell me you aren’t still grinning from that Raptor win on Sunday. As bad as the Raptors have played, they are 2 games behind Miami for 5th seed, and are tied for 8th. Gotta love the East man. Tonight Raptors roll into South Beach and face a Miami team that has lost two games in... Read more »

Tell me you aren’t still grinning from that Raptor win on Sunday. As bad as the Raptors have played, they are 2 games behind Miami for 5th seed, and are tied for 8th. Gotta love the East man. Tonight Raptors roll into South Beach and face a Miami team that has lost two games in a row – one of which was a 28 point mugging by the Grizzlies who got a career night out of Rudy Gay (41 pts).

The last time they played, the Raptors were able to turn penetration into open looks for each other. The guards were creating, the wings were scoring, and the bigs were beating up the Heat. In fact, Bargnani had a phenomenal outside-inside game where he would fake a three, take a couple steps in, and stick the jumper. He also grabbed 10 boards, one of his best nights.

In the second-half of that game, offensive rebounding and guard play was what killed the Raptors, as their 20 point half-time lead evaporated into 6 by the end of the 3rd. Timely plays by Bosh, Bargnani, Jack and Turkoglu answered every Heat charge at the end of the game, and the Raptors pulled one out.

Frankly, there is no reason that shouldn’t happen again, a Raptor win that is, but a couple things worry me about this one:

Dwayne Wade

Payback game for the Heat

Raptors are 4-10 on the road

Factor in that the Heat have lost two in a row, and after tonight, they face Orlando, Portland and Utah, and you can imagine they will be motivated to come at us hard and fast to try and make the Raptors fold early. Fortunately, Miami doesn’t have the team to blow the Raptors out of the water, this one will go down to the wire.

Jack has slid into the starter role seamlessly; you can almost imagine Jose frantically pedalling on a bike trying to get back on the court as soon as possible (might already be too late). Jack needs to be more physical with Chalmers from the get go. Mario dropped 30 on us last time, and we can’t let him go off like that alongside whatever Wade decides he is going to do tonight. Jack needs to attack and bump him every chance he gets to knock him out of his sweet spot.

DeRozan comes off three bad games in a row where he has scored a combined 12 points. While we don’t need his scoring tonight, we need him to keep Wade as far under control as possible, whatever that means. DeRozan might get an early hook if he isn’t doing it in favour of Weems who has been very active This actually becomes a strategy thing as some might say to let Wade do what he wants (since he probably will), and lock down on everyone else. I personally like going about trying to stop everyone. The best part about playing the Heat is that we don’t have to send a double team to any of the post players, since they aren’t that good.

Is it too much to ask Hedo to repeat his Houston performance? He’s already played a great game the last time out with 19pts 8rebs 5ast. He only needs to not give Jones open looks from beyond the arc, and that should be it. Jones doesn’t have the type of game to really give Hedo any problems.

Beasley lulled Bosh into a coma then just unloaded on him last time out. It was actually pretty upsetting now that I think about. As good as Beasley is, Bosh is better and should dominate this matchup. Beasley has a good shot, but you have to keep him out of the paint where he grabbed 6 offensive boards last game. That is unacceptable plain and simple.

Word has been sparse on Bargnani’s injury, but he did seem a half-step off against the Rockets (got him into foul trouble early). If the guy is hurting, we need to sit him. I understand the importance of following up the Rockets win with one over the Heat, but not at the expense of his health over the course of a season. Tonight he will need to work hard on keeping O’Neal off the offensive glass, but should get great looks at the rim from the perimeter.

Keys to the game:

Go for the jugular early

Protect the glass

Don’t double team anyone in the paint

Don’t let Chalmers/Jones get hot

Jimmy‘s sim says Miami will win 114-97. I have a feeling this will be a closer affair, and contrary to what I said in the podcast, I think the Raptors win this one 103-98.

]]>http://www.raptorsrepublic.com/2009/12/15/gameday-raptors-vs-heat-dec-1509/feed/56Thank God For The Heathttp://www.raptorsrepublic.com/2009/11/21/thank-god-for-the-heat-2/
http://www.raptorsrepublic.com/2009/11/21/thank-god-for-the-heat-2/#commentsSat, 21 Nov 2009 14:57:43 +0000http://raptorsrepublic.com/?p=12529Raptors 120, Heat 113 – Box Thank God for the Heat. Over the last two seasons, as bad as things were for the Raptors, every time the Heat popped up on the schedule (home or away), the Raptors licked their lips and got themselves a win. Even though Wade and HO had their team 7-4... Read more »

Thank God for the Heat. Over the last two seasons, as bad as things were for the Raptors, every time the Heat popped up on the schedule (home or away), the Raptors licked their lips and got themselves a win. Even though Wade and HO had their team 7-4 heading into the ACC, last night was no different. Before getting into it, how good is Wade? Miami is essentially a D-League team captained by the best player (I guess, you can interchange Kobe, LeBron and Wade as far as I’m concerned) in the league.

Bargnani got things rolling where he faked a three on the very first possession, took a step inside the three-point line and stuck a jumper. He committed a charge two possessions later, but he gave up a clean look at a three and a 15 footer to get into the paint. I will take him being aggressive like that any day of the week. Bargnani’s early active play opened space for Bosh to operate in the paint, giving him room to drive or step back and nail that jumper. Ball movement was fabulous with 7 of the 9 field goals in the quarter being assisted on (Calderon with 4 dimes).

The Heat were matching the Raptors basket for basket. Where the Raptors were creating good looks from the perimeter for each and knocking them down, the Heat were getting in the lane for layups/dunks. Wade got into the lane 6 times by my count, scoring 8 and setting HO up for a dunk. For the quarter, the Heat had 12 points in the paint to the Raptors’ 4.

The second quarter was a stretch where the Raptors could do no wrong. Ball movement was phenomenal:

Hedo drove, drew the double and kicked to Bosh for the open jumper

Jack drove, drew the double and kicked to Hedo for the open three

Bargnani hits Belinelli with a skip pass for an open jumper

Belinelli hits Johnson with three great passes in a row in the paint for layups (all three of these plays were ridiculous)

14 assists all together in the frame. It was actually the greatest 12 minutes I’ve ever seen the Raptors play. Everyone was involved, people were moving around, setting screens, hitting each other with passes, rolling towards the rim off the screen…smiling. At one point, Reggie Evans even rubbed Triano’s head and kissed him – good times.

69 points at the half

28-41 from the field

9-10 from the line

23 rebounds (4 offensive)

21 assists

22 points off the bench

The third quarter started with the Heat determined to do something and Wade setting the tone by attacking the paint. The whole offense went through him. He got into the lane, finished despite contact, or dropped it off to someone for a dunk, or kicked out to what eventually turned out to be an uncontested jumper from the perimeter. On the Raptor side of things, it couldn’t have been worse, Calderon must have been passing out bad Gatorade at half because this wasn’t the same team from the 2nd quarter.

It wasn’t so much that the Raptors were playing horribly, they were just playing uninspired. The Raptors and Heat went back and forth, matching each other basket for basket for the first half of the quarter. Ball movement wasn’t the same though for the Raptors, no one was attacking the rim, our bigs were active on the glass, but little else. Where the Raptors were getting into the paint in the first half, they were standing around the perimeter popping jumpers (they missed 10 jumpers in the quarter).

Then the Heat flipped a switch. They scored a quick 8 points, then went on a mini 7-3 run, then a 6-2 run to close out the quarter. All-in-all, the Heat went on a 21-5 run in the last 4:58 of the 3rd. it came quickly and without warning. The Raptors didn’t score a field goal in that stretch with all 5 points coming at the line. It was a sad site, like watching AltRaps sob after a night of paid companionship.

The 4th was tense with both sides only scoring 4 points in the first 3 and a half minutes. Then it slowly happened. The Raptors would hit a shot, the Heat responded with a three. HO blocked Hedo on the drive, Wade pushes the ball on the break, found Jones who stopped and popped (he had his foot on the line or it would have been a tie game) and boom, 100-99 – Raptors up by 1 with 3:44 left in the game. All of us at home sank into our seats, those of us at RFF sank in their beverages.

Bosh attacks the rim like a man possessed out of the timeout, drew the foul and hit both from the line, 102-99 Raptors – slight breathing space. HO returns the favour on the next possession, 102-101 Raptors. Hedo gets into the paint, draws the double and kicks to Bargnani who hits a clutch three, 105-101 Raptors. Beasley responds with a jumper off of a swing pass from Jones, 105-103 Raptors. Hedo gets into the lane, and draws the foul, hits both, 107-103 Raptors….

With the game on the line, a defensive stand was needed and it came. After the Raptors made three great defensive rotations, Bosh reached high to block a Beasley hook as the shot-clock was expiring and got possession back with the Raptors up 4. Hedo penetrated and hit an open Bargnani, who swung the ball to a wide open Jack for a three – dagger, 110-103 Raptors, Heat timeout. Another defensive stand was soon to follow, Raptors rotated on defense like clockwork and contested an already questionable three by Wade which rimmed out. Calderon ran the pick ‘n roll to find a rolling Bosh who stepped back and stuck the jumper, another dagger, 112-103 Raptors, another Heat timeout. After Jones misses a relatively contested long three Jack hit another dagger from behind the arc and the rest was academic.

For the record, I still think Jack is a terrible shooter, and should be restricted to driving and dishing, but he had a solid 4th quarter and hit two clutch shots to seal the game.

The Four Factors to Winning

Shooting the Ball Well
Did I say ‘well’? I meant to say ‘great’. the Raptors shot the hell out of the ball last night. 58% from the field (60% from behind the arc) and 81% from the line. The great shooting was a result of the great playmaking. You pass the rock around until someone frees up and you’ll get great looks, it’s simple. Note that the Heat had 18 more field goal attempts but had 2 less field goals made.Raptors – 64%
Heat – 47.7%

Taking Care of the Ball
Horrible, just horrible. The Raptors did not take care of the ball at all, which is something we take for granted around these parts. How bad was it? Calderon had 10ast and 4tos, Hedo had 8ast 4tos (Jack had none).Raptors – 20.2%Heat – 9%

Offensive Rebounding
For all the great work our bigs did rebounding the ball (Bargnani had 10 rebounds for crying out loud), we did a terrible job of rebounding on our own end. Beasley and HO were more then a handful (grabbing 6 and 3 respectively) which allowed the Heat wings to slip in and grab a few offensive boards that almost broke our back.Raptors – 26.4%Heat – 30.6%

Getting to the Free Throw Line
Both teams were about the same from the line but the Raptors had a higher free throw rate (Free Throw Rate = Free Throw Attempts / Field Goal Attempts) because they got to the free throw line more frequently.Raptors – 50.7%
Heat – 38.2%

It’s safe to say that the Raptors won this game with phenomenal shooting, both from the field and the line, as they were out rebounded and didn’t protect the ball nearly as well as the Heat did. After that road swing this win was very necessary.

Player Impact

Bosh, again…you surprised? Our boy had another monster night, with 29pts 10rebs 4blks. He was a monster all over the court. Bargnani was right there though with a monster of his own: 24pts 10rebs 2blks. The difference tonight was the play of Hedo and Jack, who both had their best games as Raptors.